Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played Review

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Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played ReviewIt's amazing that years can go by without a great tennis book, and now in 2009 - only a month after "A Terrible Splendor" - we've got another one.
Wertheim is one of the best tennis writers around, and one of the fairest, and he brings the 2008 Wimbledon final to life with a highly readable portrait of both Federer and Nadal, and how their games combined to create a clash for the ages.
An interesting and informed analysis of the tennis itself is complemented by the author's take on the two players that lets the reader understand why each has such passionate fans, and on the tennis scene, whose absurdities inspire a number of humorous asides.
If the book has one relative weakness, it's that it doesn't have a broader context in the way that "A Terrible Splendor" does. But in terms of getting to the heart of why tennis (and sports in general) can be so enthralling, the book definitely scores. Since finishing it, I'm eager to re-watch the DVD of the final with Wertheim's writing in mind.Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played Overview

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Venus Envy: Power Games, Teenage Vixens, and Million-Dollar Egos on the Women's Tennis Tour Review

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Venus Envy: Power Games, Teenage Vixens, and Million-Dollar Egos on the Women's Tennis Tour ReviewThis book is good to learn about the tennis tour in general and how the business is changing. However when it comes to the actual players, you only get a glimpse of them. Since it is not a bio of any of the players, that may be too much to ask. Tennis fans who follow the writer's online column may not get much more insight into the game. However newcomers may find it informative. I liked the book but it didn't go into the hard issues on the tour such as coaches who have affairs with the players and what should be done. Burn out, parent/coach abuse, public pressure, big money, girls supporting their families, etc. You get a small overview of these problems. At the very least parents should read it if they want their kids to become pro atheletes.Venus Envy: Power Games, Teenage Vixens, and Million-Dollar Egos on the Women's Tennis Tour OverviewSports Illustrated investigative reporter and tennis columnist L Jon Wertheim draws back the curtain on the athletic soap opera of women's tennis to reveal its primal plotlines driven by ambition, sex, and revenge. However, by far the biggest story in sports today is Venus Williams. Forced to the sidelines for the early months of the 2000 season by injuries to both her wrists and her psyche, she stormed back to win Wimbledon, the US Open and Two Olympic gold medals. By the time Venus signed the biggest endorsement deal ever for a female athlete, her opponents sentiments could be described in just two words: Venus Envy. Containing a wealth of inside-the-locker room anecdotes about the marquee names in women's tennis, here are the real stories behind the news stories.

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Double Fault: My Rise and Fall, and My Road Back Review

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Double Fault: My Rise and Fall, and My Road Back ReviewAs a tennis fan, I enjoyed this book. Is it great literature or life altering? No. But if you want a quick summary of Roscoe's life and enjoyable times in the opening era of professional tennis, it's all here.
Raised in an upper middle class background in the South, Roscoe quickly summarizes his early life and influences and how he fell into tennis. Given the incredible amount of work required today to be a professional, it's almost laughable how a talented individual such as Roscoe could stumble into a professional career given that it wasn't the focus of his life as required to survive in today's tennis world.
One of the first interesting facts learned was Tanner's recruitment at Stanford. After signing with Tennessee, he eventually goes to Stanford and is considered by some as the most important recruit at the university as at that time UCLA and USC were clearly the best teams in the Pac-8 and the nation. Roscoe and subsequent teammates like Sandy Mayer changed all of that.
From a stellar college career Roscoe moves on to the pros with a wife in tow and the thrills of the road overcome his marriage. Ironically, he divorces his wife over a Colorado girlfriend who immediately clarifies that this was only a fling for her, poetic justice at its best. The book becomes somewhat of a whitewash of his extracurricular activity outside of marriage including in passing a call girl encounter that leads to a child. One can only think that this wasn't the first time that the book seems to imply. From there it's a quick downward spiral in to poor investments and dishonesty that end with him in jail and deeply in debt. His stories of jail bring home how this wealthy child/adult could have fallen so far. With a quick credit to religion, Tanner presents a happy ending that one can only roll your eyes at. I wish him the best but it's easier to present your side in a book than actually live it. I did however, recently hit with a pro in Orange County that talked of Roscoe and had nothing but good things to say about his current commitment. I hope that ends up being the case.
The most interesting part of the book to this tennis fan was Tanner's description of life on the tour with the other pros. While close to his age, I wasn't aware that Tanner was doubles partner with Arthur Ashe. This brings up many interesting stories and Tanner actually does a better job describing Ashe's personality than he does his own.
In closing I would say I really enjoyed this book. Mainly because the subject is of extreme interest. Did the book go into enough depth on Roscoe? Absolutely not and that would be my main disappointment. But it is an enjoyable read of a tennis legend and for me that was enough.
Double Fault: My Rise and Fall, and My Road Back OverviewRoscoe Tanner, one of the 10 best tennis players during the seventies and eighties, was the good boy of the sport during the advent of the brash and flamboyant tennis star. In this highly captivating personal account, Tanner revisits his career and shares his stories about the game and the players who made tennis a buzz sport during his era. Tanner's life after tennis was much less charmed, however, and included a year in jail. His life spun out of control following a series of bad choices that hurt himself and others—including those he loved the most. He writes with fresh honesty about this period, as well as his efforts to rebuild his life.

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The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection Review

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The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection ReviewWhat a waste of a tree. This book is little more than a narrative of Roger Federer's travel movements and his match scores. Most of it could have been written using the ATP fixtures and match results. The rest could have been gathered from internet news searches.
Despite describing himself as "one of the world's leading tennis journalists", René Stauffer offers little personal insight into Roger Federer, man or tennis player. Nor has there been any substantial research into the views of people who know him well enough to provide such insight.
Federer has stable personal life and he is not a party animal, so there is no expectation by the reader of great revelations in this area. But there are some things the reader of a tennis biography would like to know, such as:
* Why did Federer use a single-handed backhand when most players of his generation use a double-handed back-hand?
* How did he develop that balletic and devastating forehand?
* Did he naturally have great footwork or did he (or someone else) decide to develop it?
* Who taught him to serve that way?
* How has he changed or developed his groundstrokes over the years?
* When does he try to hit a winner?
* What tactics does he use against different opponents?
And so on.
And what was he trying to do in those big matches? What makes Federer tick? This is the essence of biography.
Obviously Federer himself will not reveal his thinking and tactics, but one would expect one of the "world's leading tennis journalists" to provide some analysis - or to get it from others.The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection OverviewRegarded by many as the greatest tennis player in the history of the sport, this authoritative biography is based on many exclusive interviews with Federer and his family as well as the author's experience covering the international tennis circuit for many years. Completely comprehensive, it provides an informed account of the Swiss tennis star from his early days as a temperamental player on the junior circuit, through his early professional career, to his winning major tennis tournaments, including the U.S. Open and Wimbledon. Readers will appreciate the anecdotes about his early years, revel in the insider's view of the professional tennis circuit, and be inspired by this champion's rise to the top of his game.

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Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women's Sports Review

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Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women's Sports ReviewHow quickly we forget what we didn't have back in the day--equal rights! Ware's book reminds us of how hard Billie Jean King and other feminists fought to bring the social consciousness into the reality of female discrimination.
My generation--the 50s girls--were called tomboys if we liked sports. We didn't have the opportunities that girls and women of the Title IX generation do. They take for granted that competing in sports is something that you do because you want to.
There may have been worse forms of prejudice (socially) in the U.S., but there is no sharper example of inequity than that which operated against girls and women who took part or wished to take part in competitive sports. School administrators were not necessarily opposed to women's sports as long as they could do it without cutting into programs for men. Normally those in charge of making these decisions were men.
In 1973, Billie Jean King was the right feminist in the right sport at the right moment in American history. Her match against Bobby Riggs cemented her stature as America's first female sports superstar. She proved that women did not choke, were not frail and weak, and could face pressure and take it. In a single tennis match, Billie Jean was able to do more for the cause of women than most feminists can achieve in a lifetime. To this day, strangers, especially women, still approach Billie Jean to tell her that the match changed their lives. She moved beyond just tennis to become a symbol for something even bigger: women's rights and women's changing role in society.
Billie Jean appears in every chapter of Ware's book, but sometimes only in a supporting role--it shows where her story and that of Title IX converge--working toward eradicating all forms of discrimination in careers, personal lifestyles, and athletics. She wanted little girls to dare to dream of equal-opportunity and offered her career as a model and an inspiration. In 1990 Life magazine named her one of the hundred most influential people of the twentieth century.
Now the dilemma of modern feminism is how to recognize and embrace difference while also seeking formal equality. One of the major tenets is freedom of choice--women should be free to pursue any life courses they choose unencumbered by stereotypes or traditional gender expectations--in sports or any other areas. There is a tendency now to dismiss feminism as a relic of the past, to talk about the amazing opportunities girls have these days, to act as if the revolution is over and the mission accomplished. Well, it isn't.
Ware's view of history should be read by women of all ages--those who lived through it and survived as well as (perhaps especially) the younger ones who benefited by it.
by Doris Anne Roop-Benner
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about womenGame, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women's Sports Overview

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